Motive-power engine



S. D. C)LSENY MOTIVE POWER ENGINE Filed Aug. 27, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet l Ot. 6, 1925. Y Y 1,556,300

S. D. OLSEN IOTIVE POWER ENQVI'QIE med Aug. v, i921 2 sheets-sheet 2 Inf/m501- yan Patented Oct. 6, 1925.

u NITED 1,556,3oav

snvrofN :noxx oLsEN, Ior WEST HAM; Lennon. ENGLAND, assis-nca yro zman'.lonsnn ENGINE SYNDICATE LIM-Iran, @E LoNnoN, ENGLAND,,AqnafrrsHi-coMPANY.

MoxIJIvE-BOWER ENGINE.

Application filed Augustz'gieal. .seriaifNa l495,862.

yTo all whom t may conc-erm.' J

Be it known that I, SIMON Donn OLSEN, a subject of the King of Norway, residing at 41 lMeath Road', 'West Ham,'E. 1.5, inthe county of London, England, have .invented certain lnew' and useful Improvements in or Relating to Motive-Power Engines, of which Athe following 4is a specification. i y

This invention Vhas reference to motive ,power engines, relates more yparticularly to engines of the type having cams for converting the reciprocating Vinotionl into .rotary motion, instead ofthe ordinary crank arra ngement. Y

The invention, which is applicable both in connection with internal combustion engines and with steam -or compressed air engines, is designedto provide lan arrangement such that Athe stresses or strains setup in the working strokes `are balanced or counteract .each other.

A feature of the -inventionris that the cam is in the form of a hollow cylindeigshell or drum made Wide onone side and narrowon theopposite side,its edgessloping equally in opposite directions or converging towards the narrow part or side.; These edges form cam tracks against which .the opposing pistons act practically direct through vthe mediumof rollers or trucksinstead lof requiring piston Vrods or connecting rods.

Another feature of the' invention is `that it enab-les several lworking `cylinders to lbey arranged `parallel around the main shaft in circular co-axialgroups or sets, thus securing: great conipact'ness relatively to thepower 'Y y l are mounted in two castings f each carrying a group or nest of six `cylinders adisposed of lthe engine. Two ror more such groups may also be arranged concentrically Yone 1nside the other. 1 v' A further feature ofthe invention is ,that

the cam which servesto convertthe motion,

may be arrangedlbetweenthe `pistons in such .a way that theyact on opposite .sides of it and counterloalanceone another, the Cambie- '.ingjthus practically Afree fromendwise, lateral or twisting strains.

.The distributing valves are controlled from a single cano.v f .According to ftheinven'tiomtwo groups of cylinders lare arranged opposite. eachv other,

`so thatfthe cylindersfform .opposing-K and ,coy axial pairs `and ,corresponding cylinders act simultaneously or synchronously; Thema-in .shaft extends centrally through the itwo .groups and-on-itthecam arrangement is se- 4 the cylinders.

.ofthe shaft.

cured between the said cylinder groups.` 'The 'piston of each cylinder carries'aroller or truck which abuts against 'the edge Yof the cam andv transmitsthe 'pressurethereto prac'- vrtica-lly direct.y In the case yof a two-stroke internal*v combustion yengine for"u 'instance lscavenging air or motive v7fluid'ma'y be sup'- plied through annular chambers ojr boxes arranged' `in the centrev of each groupof ,cylinders, these boxes having axial sleevesor passages extending-through Athem :to hold "the bearings of the main shaft.l l'

In order that the invention may lbeelearily understood and readily carried vinto efe'ct reference.` will now'be had byiway of example tothe yaccompanyin'g diagraminatio drawings, in which;

Fig. l is a'longitudinal o r axial section of an engine comprisingtwogroupsof six. cylinders with a cylindrical cam between'zthein.

Fig. 2 is an end view "of one'group .of cylinders, the right-hand half being. intra-nsverse section 'through 'the exhaust-.ports of Fig. 3 shows a development of.. the 'cam paths formed by the opposite ofthe cam cylinder. Inthese drawings: y

a a are the cylinders, which are provided withhollow pistons bcarrying' rollers cffor ,transmitting the thrust or pressure. "These cylinders are disposed around'the lniainshaft d to vwhich isv keyed the cylindrical Y or dru'prn cam e whereby the pistons produce'rotation In the arrangement .,ShOW; the, cyliids .miler Chamberior distributing box Jbf. jtfr "the scavenging air or motive .fluid-according l to thet'ype of. engine) and thfrllfg'h ethe'hollow .centre Of .1t-hesje' twozboxes; if'tid. adjustable bea-rings lor brrasse's for thef aforesaid .main-shaft f l A i The .cylinders themselves may. shown able spaces or 'jacketsfib'eing-lefta'round ,said cylinders., ."Ben*v in galigninefnt the *cyl-- The adjacent or opposing ends of the cylinders come close together but are slotted longitudinally as at al, sutliciently to accommodate or clear the widest part of the shell of the cylindrical or drum cam e, over or beyond which they extend, or rather which projects into the adjacent ends or mouths of the cylinders. This cam or drum e is wide at one side and narrow at the other, its edges tapering or converging as in Fig. l, so that it is wedge-like or V-shaped. It thus corresponds to only one to-and-fro stroke of the pistons for each revolution, and ensures very smooth running even at high speeds.

The said cam also has a web or disc el with its nave or hub c2 secured on the main shaft, and the hub may be thickened considerably as at e3 on the side where the cam itself is narrow, to act as a counterweight lfor the purpose of securing properly balanced rotation.

The width ofthe widest and narrowest parts of the cam depends on circumstances, the main point being to secure a convenient angle of slope or inclination for the converging edges 64. In the example shown the greatest width (that at thev top of Fig. l) is rather more than one and one half times the radius of the cam drum, and this has been found a convenient size in practice. The opposite or narrow edge is approximately the width of the central disc el only. Of course these proportions may be considerably altered in practice and are only given as illustrations.

To prevent the pistons turning on their axes, they may each be provided with a pin working in a groove in the cylinder in the well known manner.

The exhaust 7s of all the cylinders of each group are connected together by pipes k1 surrounding the engine, and such pipes may discharge into a common main exhaust k2.

Z are openings which may be provided (as hereinafter referred to) for admitting scavenging air in an internal combustion engine.

In such a case the narrow part of the cam is suitably shaped to vallow suiicient time for the discharge of the spent gases and the admission of scavenging air.

The outer or end covers t2 of the opposite cylinders are provided with lugs m for tiebolts m1 extending from side to side or end to end of the main casing, and serving to hold or tie the whole structure together.

The pistons b may be of the usual trunk typeused in explosion motors, but in the mouth of each is arranged diametrically a pin or short axle c1 on which is mounted the truck or roller o for transmitting the power to the drum cam and these rollers press constantly against the cam edges et.

The edges of the roller and cam may be bevelled as shown (somewhat like bevelgearing) .to proper running, and

those of the cam may be flanged outside to assist in keeping the rollers in position. In fact the edges of the cam serve, in effect, as flanged rails for the rollers to run on as the cani e revolves under the inward pressure of the pistons b and rollers c against the sloping or cam-like edges et. In other words the rollers c of the two pistons at the top of Fig. l press on the widest part of the cam (compare middle of Fig. 3) and force it away from between them, so revolving the cam and the shaft d. Y

The same action occurs as` the widest part of the cam passes between each pair of pistons and rollers o (see Fig. 3), the working strokes or explosions being suitably timed to take place at that instant. Since the thrust of one piston is opposite to that of its fellow piston in the other group, they counteract each other and a practically perfect balance is obtained.

The lower pair of pistons in Fig. l have finished their working stroke and are about to be forced back in the same position as those at the top, as the widest part of the revolving cam comes down between them. As soon as this part has just got past them, they will again perform a working (or explosion) stroke and impart a further im.

pulse to the cam, and so on.

In. the arrangement illustrated, the timing and ignition are controlled electrically by a commutator barrel n on the shaft d co-operating with brushes 0. This barrel is adapted to be moved endwise and is provided with a shifting lever p (having a pin and groove connect-ion therewith of the usual kind) whereby its position relatively to the brushes can be altered and thus the engine can be stopped by sliding the barrel a to such a position that its contacts miss the brushes 0. The invention is not however confined to such a timing and ignition system.

The tapered brasses or bearings z' for the main shaft CZ are also adjustable endwise to take up wear, this adjustment being ef fected by means of nuts 111 on screws 2 secured in the main casing.

A special advantage of the construction above set forth is that the pistons can be very easily taken out, since there are no actual connections between the pistou andthe cam which require to be unmade. In fact it is vonly necessary to takeoff the back or end cover and any of the pistons can be drawn out immediately.

The invention is particularly applicable to two-stroke Diesel engines, in which case the exhaust can go into the central chamber f1 in which the cam revolves, and pass out through the annular box-like frame or casingt between the cylinders which would act as a silencer.

Obviously the invention may be modified in various vways in carrying the vsame in.-

" wide at'one side and narrow at the opposite opposed cylinders and pistons arranged in circular groups at either side thereof with slots at their adjacent ends to allow them to overlap the cam so as to properly guide the piston, and a casing formed in two halves each half containing one of the cylinder groups, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a shaft carrying a V-shaped cam wire at one yside and narrow at the opposite, slotted cylinders on opposite sides of said cam arranged parallel with the shaft in opposed circular groups and overlapping the cams soas to guide their pistons, a casing into which the cylinders of each group are fitted, pistons inside said cylinders, rollers mounted in the mouths of the pistons and acting on the opposite edges of the cam, means for causing opposite pistons to perform their working strokes simultaneously counter to each other so that each neutralizes the strain due to the other, and detachable covers at the outer ends of the cylinders to permit the easy withdrawal of the pistons, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a shaft carrying a V-shaped cam, wide at one side and narrow at the opposite, opposed cylinders on opposite sides of said cam overlapping the same in order to support and guide their pistons, and arranged parallel withl the shaft in circular groups, a casing divided in the inidl dle and having the cylinders of each group arranged in one half thereof, pistons inside said cylinders acting counter to each other, rollers carried by said pistons acting on the opposite edges of the cam and tie-rods eX- `tending between the end covers of the corresponding opposed cylinders, substantially as described.

5. The combination of two circular groups of opposed cylinders and pistons with corresponding pistons acting counter' to each other, a cylindrical cam arranged between said groups, and made wide at one side and narrow at the other, rollers carried by said pistons acting against the edges of the Cain, a central web by which said cam is carried, slotted mouths at the adjacent ends of the cylinders to permit of their coming close up to the web of the cam, a shaft parallel with the cylinders, and an outer casingy divided in the middle and having a group of cylinders in each half thereof, substantially as described.

6. The combination of two circular groups of opposed cylinders and pistons actingl counter to each other, a cylindrical cam arranged between said groups with the mouths of the cylinders overlapping same so as to come close to the web ofthe cain and afford guidance for the pistons and support against lateral pressure, rollers in the mouths of the pistons acting against the lateral edges of the cam, a shaft parallel with the cylinders, an outer casing for each cylinder group in which the said cylinders are fitted, bearings for the shaft arranged at the centre of each casing, and means for tying the casings together all round so that all the strains are self-contained and neutralise each other, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

siMoN DoKK oLsnN. 

